Fallen Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom

"I love you daddy its been almost 10years and I still trully miss you. Thanks everyone for all the great message about my father!💋 It felt good to read them"
Jaiwanna Brooks of Detroit, MI

"Sgt Gentry always had my utmost respect as a soldier and as a man. I was lucky enough to serve as a member of " haul section " of which he was section sgt. I also was given the opportunity to live in a p.l.s. truck with him for a week ( rawah 1 ) during which he spoke of his love for his family and the many paths his life had taken him. I learned more from that man in 9 months than anyone I've ever met in my whole life. I will never forget you sarnt gent !!!"
Josiah Larson of Hibbing, Minnesota

"Lew still think about you all of the time still missing you.....I cant believ how fast time goes by.....I pray that you are at peace now...Love always..T"
T. Gentry

"To the family and friends of Sgt Lewis J Gentry my heartfelt sympathy as you continue to mourn the loss of this American Hero. I have 'created' a memorial for Sgt Lewis J Gentry at www.findagrave.com so his memory will be etched in time. God bless."
of Michigan

"September 1, 2008
To the family of Staff Sgt. Lewis J. Gentry:
Lewis gave the ultimate sacrifice and will be held in the hearts of Americans forever. I cannot and will not let our fallen heroes be forgotten. My deepest sympathy to you. "Some gave all."
Peggy Childers
"Don't Let The Memory Of Them Drift Away"
www.IraqWarHeroes.org"
Peggy Childers of Carson City, NV

"My heart and soul misses you endlessly. I felt blessed to have had the honor to be at your homegoing in Detroit, MI. May He Who is Faultless keep you always"
Kathie B. Gentry (1st wife) of Atlanta, Georgia

"ssg. Gentry was a very couragious and a highly-motivated man. he also was my section sgt in Iraq of '05. i truly miss him and i i know he served his country and spoke highy of his family.GOD BLESS you SSG. Gentry"
Curtis Bell Jr. of Waukegan, IL

"Two years and have passed and it seems like yesterday... I think of you daily and it never surprises me when people see me and ask about you and I have to tell them that you are gone..how many people don't know and all of the nice things they have to say about you....you touched so many lives in soooooooo many different ways.....i know you are with me through things that go on in my life... I can still feel you, as though we were still tight like we were when you were with me here.....you coem to me in my dreams and its so real to me and when I wake up I realize it was mereky a dream....with the two years that have passed the hurt still lingers but some of the sting is gone....you are still loved and thought of daily.....Luv you, miss u Tre'"
T. Gentry

"As the tears stream down upon receiving the news of Gentry's passing, I can only share the great memories I had with an amazing person. I played basketball with him in Bremerhaven, Germany and from the first day, he was like an older brother to me, teaching me things in basketball as well as life. I will never forget those times playing basketball all day on sundays with him and the things he said and did. Although I had lost contact and just found out today (12/6/07), he was and will be with me forever. Lewis, I thank you for your brave contribution to our country as well as the touch you gave to everyones heart you came across. You will be missed. RIP and my love and condolences go out to all those whose lives you touched and your family. Rob"
Rob Engel of Pacific Grove, CA. USA

"To the family of:Lewis J. Gentry I am so sorry for the loss of your love one. My heart cries out for you in your grief and you have my thoughts and prayers. He died a hero defending freedom. May you have the peace and understanding that only comes from God. Prayerfully we will all meet in Heaven one day where we will rest in the arms of Jesus. If you need prayer or need someone to talk to, please call or write my pastor: Rev. John Pearrell 11677 Brown Bridge Rd., Covington, GA 30016. (770)787-1015. Your friend in Jesus Christ, Polly Ballew Covington,Ga"

"It does not seem like it was this same time last year, the date was 4 Nov 05. I was in Detroit to see you one last time before you departed.... I think of you daily, remenbering when I first saw you... LOL Do you remember that?
I learned so much from you in such a short time.. how to be patient, how to take a bad situation and turn it around.. I never thought that after a year it would still hurt like it was just yesterday that I got that knock on my door...still never thinking in a million years that it was YOU hearing those words leave the lips of the SFC whose duty it was to tell me the terrible news.... then tears...regrets...things that should have been said that were never said...forgiveness that was never given, apologies never made....then it was too late...and it STILL hurts...

I often laugh when I think of all of the walks we took from the strawberry patch at Thompkins barracks, GE. All the way to Downtown Mannheim. How the older people always looked at us as if they KNEW we were in love.

How when I was with you I KNEW I was safe from any and everything... the late night talks, the Friday night movie marathons...your all day Sunday basketball in Grafenwhoer, GE... waiting for you to say Dang baby this is good when I cooked and we ate Sunday dinner :o)

When I met you I loved you instantly, from that moment on I thought of you daily...never even knowing your name..then one night I really needed someone to talk to and I can remember wishing that I had you to talk to on a Saturday night in Mannheim, GE 4th of July weekend during the Fest

and guess who I ran into Sunday at Burger King ...you, and we spoke as if we had know each other for years... I remeber you said that you thought I was crazy (lol) n you did not believe that I wanted to talk to you... and we laughed......

I remeber when you never believed that I would actually leave Kuwait and cross over to Iraq, "yall aint going to Iraq, yall are gonna be right there"..lol

but where did you and I end up together 2003-2004 "Baghdad" and it was you that told me how to travel on the three day convoy...and it was you that said whatever you see all of the stupid people doing you do the opposite..fotfl
Remebering how lucky we were to be in Iraq together :-), how brave you were when that bomb shook the entire building when and I was shaking like leaf aand you were so cool smoking you rnewport and you were like babe you want me to go see what's going on...like somebody threw a rock.....lol.... forever my BRAVE soldier..... eating at the palace you watching me swim my laps me watching you play ball...and you holding me in your safe but strong arms...
I remeber how worried you used to be when it came to me.. when I flew back to Landsthul from Iraq, when I kept missing my exit on my way to Ft Polk..
It was you...it has always been you...
With all of our goodtimes...as well as the bad we accepted each other... we loved each other ....and we were both to stubborn to realize exactly how deep it was until it was forever to late. :o(

Remeber this,
"Meeting"
First with our Eyes
Then with our Souls
Then with our Hearts...

Remember our first actual date in Hanau Ge at CHI CHI's when you looked at the Quesedilla's and guacomole like it was nasty.....and I said no boo-boo you'll like it and the little boy behind us asked his MOM Boo-Boo? whooose Boo-Boo? and we lauged about that everytime we evn thought about Chi-Chi's.....fotfl
I am so grateful for being able to hear your voice on the 17th of Oct 05.....you said it felt good to talk to somebody that did not want anything.. and we talked until we both had to get off the phone....
I often regret missing your call the 25th of oct 05..but all things happen according to GOD's plan..
I am grateful that we shared the moments that we did
I often wonder if we KNEW what was ahead what would we have changed?
Would we have loved harder, fought harder to iron out our differences so that no one would ever have to question are we still together, do we still love each other, are they still married..
I have soooo many regrets...and I hate that it took me so long to forgive God dealt with me for that..
You are so alive in my heart, in my mind and sometimes i still feel as though we are connected:o),
I often wonder if you knew that throuh it all...the good, bad, breakups and makeups...I continually loved you, there was never a question of that..
I never knew that I was still grieving until about three months ago...a frined stationed in GA called and wanted to know what happend and I began to tell it.. and I began to cry as if I was hearing the news for the first time...then it dawned on me that I had never really talked about it...I cried and cried..and afterward i felt a little better..
so this site has helped me get things off of my chest that have been there forever....In spite of it all
No one knows what really goes on between a man and woman except that man, that woman, and God.
No one will ever understand what we shared and still share..i remeber on the way back from the funeral i asked God to let me talk to you and about two night later, he did..and it was as real as I typing my feelings right now...

I would not trade one minute of anything we did or had at all good and bad...

It has made me the woman I am right now..

I will write more later..
until I see you again

I find comfort in knowing that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

Loving and missing you daily......"
T Gentry of The United States of America

"Lew and I played together on the varsity basketball team at Siena Heights College (1980-1982). He was a great player and an outstanding person. Lew was a solid guy that you could always depend on. I was deeply saddened when I recently learned that Lew had lost in life in Iraq while serving our country. I will keep Lew and his family in my thoughts and prayers."
Glen Butler of Marietta, GA

"On behalf, of Lewis Gentry we say thank you for your comments
On April 26, 2005, I received an email from my great uncle and I would like to share it with everyone because this email gives me comfort that he is okay. Saying I love you is not hard to say to your love ones and you should always say it at each and every opportunity.

The original messaged copied to this message board.
"Glad thanks for writing me how you been? If you notice I allways say love ya'll at the end of my emails cause a couple of my soldiers got hurt really bad last night and I think if it was me did i tell everybody in my family that I love them so when I'm home on leave drinking and partying or email or call them I allways say I love you(I say Ya'll to you and husband) cause I want it to be said before and after LOVE YA'LL Uncle Lewi "


Nov 16, 2005, was his 49th birthday. Happy Birthday, Uncle Lewi we love and miss you too! Love Ya! Glad"
Gladzena Young of Jacksonville, FL

"MY NAME IS WALLY KRUSO,I AM 46 AND I PLAYED WITH LEWIS GENTRY ON 3 CHAMPIONSHIP BASKETBALL TEAMS IN GERMANY IN THE YEAR OF 85-95.HE ALSO PLAYED IN THE NIKE SUPER CUP IN GERMANY IN 2000.HE WAS A GREAT PLAYER,SPORTSMAN AND NEVER MISSED A GAME THAT HE USED TO GET HIS 20-35 POINTS A GAME.IN GERMAN BASKETBALL LEAGUES HE WAS WELL LIKED AND WELL KNOWN.WE WERE ALL SO SHOCKED OF THE BAD NEWS OF LEWIS DEATH.SO MANY PEOPLE IN GERMANY WILL MISS HIM AND KEEP HIM IN BEST MEMORIES.OUR THOUGHTS ARE WITH HIS WIFE AND ALL OF HIS FAMILY.AS SOON AS I WILL GET OLD BASKETBALL PHOTOS OF LEWIS IN ACTION,I WILL SENT IT TO HIS FAMILY.WE WILL KEEP LEWIS GENTRY IN BEST MEMORIES AND IN OUR PRAYERS. WALLY KRUSO,BREMERHAVEN GERMANY 0049 471 44645 PHONE"
WALLY KRUSO of BREMERHAVEN,GERMANY

"Our family hurts with you. We know what your are going through. No word of ours will ever aleviate the sorrow you are experiencing. That knock on the door, the waiting for him to be brought back. The arraingment needed made. The emptiness and ache. Every morning it starting all over again. Yes we know. Our thought and prayers are with you. Parents of Capt. Lowell T Miller II (20 March 1970 - August 29 2005) Ishkandariyah"
Tom and Linda Miller of Flint, MI

"DEEPLY SADDEN OF THE NEWS OF LEWIS. LEWIS LOST HIT'S HOME! OUR SON SGT GREGORY L. WAHL ALSO FROM VESLICK. KIA BALAD, IRAQ 05-03-04. LEWIS YOU HAVE TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF SO MANY. TO ALL THOSE YOU TOUCHED. ALL SHARED FOND MEMORIES WITH YOU. ESPECIALLY, THOSE IN YOUR FAMILY, NEIGHBOR'S, YOUR COMMUNITY AND TO ALL YOUR MILITARY BROTHERS AND SISTERS. PLEASE REACH OUT TO YOUR COMMUNITY BACK HOME. TO THE COMMUNITY AND THE POLITICAL LEADERS. REQUEST A STREET BE NAMED AFTER LEWIS TO HONOR HIS SERVICE TO HIS COMMUNITY, COUNTY, STATE AND COUNTRY. LEWIS YOU ARE SOMEONE'SOMEONE AND MY FRIEND YOU ARE SOMEONE TO THE WAHL FAMILY. YOU HAVE NOT GIVEN YOUR LIFE VAIN! YOU ARE A HERO AN AMERICAN HERO! ONE THAT FOUGHT OFF TERRORISM AND TO GIVE THOSE IN IRAQ HOPE! YOU ARE APART OF MILITARY, IRAQI, AMERICAN AND WORLD HISTORY. MY TEARS NEVER STOPPED FLOWING FOR MY SON. AN TODAY THOSE TEARS ARE FOR YOU LEWIS! MY HEART AND PRAYS ARE WITH YOU LEWIS AND YOUR LOVING FAMILY. THANK YOU FOR SERVING OUR COUNTRY. AN FOR BEING A MILITARY BROTHER TO OUR SON! THOSE THAT SERVED WITH YOU WILL MISS YOUR LEADERSHIP, UNDERTSTANDING, TEACHINGS AND LOVE!. YOU REST MY FRIEND, FOR YOU WILL NEVER EVER BE FORGOTTEN!"
LEONARD WAHL of VALLEY STREAM NY

"To the family of Staff Sgt Lewis, my son PFC Matthew Seibert, 22, also in the 94th serving in Mosul, is deeply sadden by his loss as well as being a great friend. Thank you for everything you have done for our Country and being there to support my son...you were his family!"
Elizabeth Luby of Winchester, VA

"We Will NEVER FORGET !"
Please KNOW so many people share your sadness,
and we are remembering your family in your loss and your deep grief.
Our nations HERO, Lewis will be remembered by name.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
God Bless you ALWAYS.
Pat & Sandi Breckenridge from Montana "

"Thank you Lewis Gentry, you will not be forgotten. Your bravery goes beyond words. I want to express my deepest gratitude for your sacrifice. To the family and friends, my prayers and deep condolences in your loss. May God strengthen you from knowing that fellow Americans and people around the world care about you and grieve with you in your loss. God bless you all. A very appreciative fellow American,"
Leo Titus of Grayslake, Illinios

"To the family and friends of Staff Sgt. Lewis Gentry:
May God's grace be with you during your time of grief. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and we feel your loss and share in your sorrow. Bless Lewis for the sacrifice he has made to make a better life for the rest of us."
The Ford Family of Wells, Nevada

"To the family and friends of Staff Sgt. Lewis Gentry:
I am saddened by the loss of your loved one. He will always be remembered as a hero for fighting for freedom. I hope that this website will be a source of comfort and encouragement for you during this difficult time, and in the future as you recall the memories of Lewis, who continues to live on in your heart."
Tim Rivera of Powder Springs, Georgia